Waiting for Karadzic

(1945-06-19)On the way to town I passed the main prison here in The Hague. There was several television crews outside the prison's main gate complete with their satellite disc.

They are anticipating the arrival of Radovan Karadzic, the Serbian leader during the Bosnian war, who was indicted for war crimes. Karadzic was caught just a few days ago in Serbia after being a fugitive for 12 years and successfully disguised himself as traditional medical practitioner. Once extradition is done, he will be sent to this prison while going through the War Crime tribunal.

Then on the way I passed this nice and really cool building - fully covered with green - eco. This is apparently the headquarters of Europol or Europe Police which represents 27 member states in Europe. It has a army of some 600 staff. Europe is really becoming well beyond its one economy and one currency bloc.

Bungee Jumping

Today I went for a 3-hour cycling just to do a bit of exercise. I made a brief stop at Scheveningen to take some photos. Although it was already 6 pm, plenty of people were still there. But it must have been very crowded during the day today as the temperature was quite warm and beach friendly.

I went to the end of the pier to watch closer people doing bungee jumping. My zoom lens isn’t that powerful but good enough to capture the moment of no return – when the person had to jump. For most people it was not just for the exhilaration and experience but also to boost around that they have done it.

From the pier, one could see the Kurhaus hotel, an old but majestic building and is one of the most expensive hotels to stay here. The building was completed in 1885 and forms one of the more famous backdrop of many old photos. Even at this late afternoon, there were still some people on the beach, even swimming in the sea. The water must be cold, after all this is the North Sea and water seldom goes above 15 Deg. C even in the summer.

Evening at Vapiano

I joined a few Bruneians to have a meal at Vapiano, a new Italian restaurant in town. It was also to bid good bye to Aidi and family who were spending their last night in The Hague before going home. I have never been to this restaurant before but apparently it is our eldest daughter’s favourite hunting ground.

The menu are quite simple and cheap. They cook pasta or pizza it in front of you as you wait for your order.
The place is quite popular and always crowded.

In fact last night it was not only this restaurant but the whole street were full of people eating out and just having drinks. It’s the start of the weekend and the temperature for the first time time this summer hit 30 Deg. C during the day. Just around the corner, somebody constructed some amazing structures out of sands. These structures mimic many of the famous buildings found in The Hague. Quite awesome.

Ikea Day

Today, Saturday, was a full day. First off was the nearby IKEA store to buy a couple of flat packs which I plan to DIY on Sunday. Picking up the flat packs, I was wondering whether they would fit in the car. Each weighs 30 kg and 2 metres long. After a bit of a struggle, they eventually fitted in the car....phew!

Later on it was time to watch Live on TV the penultimate time trail of the Tour de France before the more ceremonial final stage at Paris on Sunday. Cadel Evan, the favourite, didn’t make it for the yellow jersey; it was Carlos Sastre, the Spanish rider. He will wear the yellow jersey tomorrow and to be officially declared as the 2008 winner.

The whole Tour de France has been an exciting race to watch over the month as these super humans battle each other through 21 stages totaling 3500 km, through mountains as high as 2000 m, averaging speed of 40 to 50 km on the straight with final sprint of up to 70 km/hr and when going downhill reaching speed of 120km/hr. Indeed these riders gone through extreme pain barrier as they race 5 to 6 hours every day.

After this will be quiet on the sporting front. Don't fancy cricket - there is some sort of tour, test matches and one-day international going on. I don't really understand this game.

Faces Behind the Figures

There has been a spate of fatal road accidents back home lately. More often then not, these fatalities remain as part of the statistic. Hardly any learnings or causes of the accidents are shared out. And such incidents are quickly forgotten and another opportunity for learning is lost again. Here's an article from World Health Organisation which shares some faces behind the figures. Hopefully if you read this you will learn from the incidents and change the way you use the road.

Voices of road traffic crash victims and their families

Behind every road traffic crash statistic, there are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, grandchildren, colleagues, classmates and friends whose lives are changed forever. For every severe crash, survivors, relatives and friends can suffer physical, psychological, emotional and economic devastation.

These stories put a human face on the statistics presented in road safety reports. Each of the 1.2 million deaths and 50 million injuries every year has a story to tell. These stories emphasize that if prevention measures and emergency rescue services had been in place, an enormous amount of suffering could have been avoided.

These stories are drawn from the publication Faces behind the figures: Voices of road traffic crash victims and their families, a collaborative project of WHO and the Association for Safe International Road Travel.

Brazil: Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga
Thiago de Moraes Gonzaga died in a car crash just a week before his 18th birthday. The car was being driven by an 18-year-old boy who did not have a driving licence. "It was as if our family had all died together," recalls his mother, Diza Gonzaga, who now works to promote road safety.

Cameroon: Jane Njawe
Jane Njawe died while waiting for treatment at the hospital for five hours after being injured in a road traffic collision. Her husband Pius Njawe recalls the trauma their five children went through. Pius has dedicated himself to promoting road safety in Jane's memory.

Egypt: Deana Blanchard
Seventeen-year-old Deana Blanchard died while trying to cross a busy street without a pedestrian crossing in Maadi. "Every day I see men, women and children dashing and weaving through a blurred maze of cars, buses and trucks and I hold my breath praying that the speeding steel does not end another life," says her father David Blanchard.

France: Mathilde and Elise Jurgensen
Mathilde (7 years) and her sister Elise (4 years) were killed on the way to their grandmother's house when a drunk driver hit the car they were riding in. Their mother Genevieve Jurgensen talks about the emotional devastation she went through before coming to terms with their death.

Kenya: Lillian Mworia
Inappropriate treatment for Lillian Mworia's injuries following a road traffic collision contributed to her being paralysed. She recounts her experience that has forced her to stay in hospital for two years now.

Thailand: Satien Luangpiak
Motorcycle taxi driver Satien Luangpiak was involved in a road traffic crash but escaped with minor trauma to the head and shoulder partly because he was wearing a helmet. He strongly feels that helmet use should be strictly enforced as taxi drivers like him run the risk of losing income, or worse, their lives.

USA: Aron Sobel
Working as a volunteer in Turkey, 25-year-old medical student Aron Sobel died along with 22 others when the bus he was in crashed into a deep ravine. Although the dangerous "death curve" had been the site of many road traffic crashes, no action had been taken to improve the road. Aron's mother Rochelle Sobel recounts the strong sense of guilt she was overwhelmed with after her

Going Home

Today the family flies home except yours truly and they will be there for 6 weeks. I will only join mid-way through. It will be an interesting time ahead. The kids were worried what will I eat. I had a peek at the fridge and already got a plan for tonight at least!

The Schipol airport was crowded today. It’s the holiday season and schools just closed a week or so ago. Compare to Heathrow which just got 2 runways, Schipol got 5 and has plenty of rooms for expansion. One thing I always notice when at the airport is that there are always constructions of some sort at the airport, such as new additions to terminal, road widening etc. It’s a sign that airport authority is planning and continuously upgrading the facilities to accommodate the needs for now and more importantly for the future.

Afternoon Tea

Yesterday being Saturday was a busy day. We started off early in the morning at the Hague Hobema Market; in fact we were very early as the tenants were still busy setting up their stalls.

Later in the afternoon we went for coffee outside and in the evening watch the movie Hancock, another one of those superhuman movie that somehow superheros could only come out of America. And in-between packing stuff for the flight home.

Mid Summer

It's mid summer but does not feel like summer at all. Especially today the weather has been pretty cold at 16 Deg C at mid day and raining. In some of the introductory books about Holland, it is described as a country with low skies. Especially today when one could only see low and thick clouds hanging as far as the eyes could see the horizon. Nonetheless yours truly has been cycling to work regardless. But obviously with the full gear on when it rains! Today the ‘movable’ bridge along my route decided to operate to allow a barge to pass through. It’s a great sight but it wasted a good few minutes of my time to the office.

Back home it’s time of the year of opulence occasions. The time of the year where we want to forget and push issues aside and for the country to celebrate lavishly with all the pomp and ancient ceremonies. Time of the year where civil servants are rewarded with medals and honours, it’s one of the perks of being a civil servant. After all, Brunei has a high proportion of civil servants to the overall working population. May be at a level of 20 to 30%. Where else in most countries it is about 10 %. As for comparison we have about 23 Permanent Secretary as compare to 25 in UK government with the grade of Permanent Secretary.

The Gathering

Bruneians in Holland

There are not that many of us here, probably about 8 or 9 families altogether. It's not large but may be bigger than in other countries in Europe where Brunei either has an embassy or a representative office, apart from UK of course.

One would wonder why there is no Brunei Embassy in Holland yet there are offices in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Russia in mainland Europe. And yet every year there are lot of Bruneians who go to Holland on training as well as living here on work assignment.

It must have been because Brunei has little or no historical link with the Dutch. Where else countries like France, Germany and Russia are big countries and members of the G8 grouping which every country including Brunei could not afford to ignore. Belgium and Switzerland, being the seat of Europe and hosting the UN office respectively, are obvious to have a representative office there.

In any case Brunei interest in Holland is well served from the Brussel office. So there is no real need to have another one here. Running an overseas office is not cheap and if the government does not see the political, economic or social benefits, why do it.

BBQ on Sunday

Today we organised a farewell do at our house for Aidi and family leaving Holland end of this month for Shakalin. They have been here for nearly four years and now is time to move on.

It has also been quite a while that the Bruneian community here have been together in any form of gathering. So it was also good to catch up with what's each others have been up to. Luckily this time most could make it.

And also luckily the weather was permitting. After all it has been a week of real wet weather with instances of torrential downpours one normally associate to conditions back home. So obviously it was a real blessing and that we all could sit outside all afternoon.

It was also the first time we did a BBQ at our backyard. As I said almost all the Bruneian turned up. Children really enjoyed the day. They played badminton and football all afternoon, real pleasure to see them running around and full of energy.

Chocolate in Belgium

We set off early to Brussel today, a good two hours drive from home. In the Grote Markt or the Old Market at the heart of the city, one can find rows of chocolate shops lining up the market square. Indeed this is why we went here for.

There are many famous brands to satisfy everyone's taste so sometimes it is quite difficult to choose which one. It depends whether one prefers dark chocolate, brown chocolate, milk etc. But it is possible to ask for an assortment when ordering a box.

Apart from chocolate, there are also shops selling all sort of biscuits which are packed in nice and beautiful containers - perfect for gifts.

Time to Say Goodbye

Friday was the last day of school of the current academic year . It was also an emotional time for most as inevitably the day was also the last day for many close friends. The school, composed entirely of children of expatriates, normally see quite a significant turnover annually as families move when their assignments completed.

After El Nino, It's King Nadal

What an epic game. It was the longest Wimbledon final tennis match in history.

After nearly 5 hours of superb tennis, Nadal finally beaten Federer. All of us at home here were behind Nadal to win his first Wimbledon, but Federer seemed to come back at every match points for Nadal. The scores were 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 7-9.

Spain seems to be on a good run in sports right now. Spain is on winning streak on a few other sports.

The recent one obviously was the Euro 2008 where El Nino meaning 'the kid' in Spanish aka Fernando Torres scored the winner against Germany.

Tour de France Hopefuls?

The grueling bicycle race for the famous yellow jersey started on Saturday. Tour de France is cycling's most prestigious event. It is a 23-day, 21-stage race which this year runs over more than 3,500 km. During the course of the race the riders will be attempting some almost super human feats that will test their mental and physical toughness to the limit. A recent BBC documentary recently showed how grueling it is to race up the mountains while constantly faced with gusting winds and chilling rains.

The Tour de France race traverses across picturesque landscape of France and is going anticlockwise this year. It will go from the West, to the mountainous South before heading to the North and finishing off in Paris. On the way they will have climbed mountain passes of more than 2000 metres high.

Anyway, back to reality, brought the kids on a 1 hour cycle ride this aftrenoon. Great fun.

12 hours to Engelberg

The school year is ending this coming week and it's the start of the 7 weeks summer holiday. The kids have been doing all sort of activities and trips these past weeks. Our eldest just returned from Engelberg in Central Switzerland for her Geography and Biology trip. We sent her off last Sunday and the students set off on a number of coaches at around 6.30 am from school. The bus trip took 12 hours to reach Engelberg. Obviously the physical geography in Switzerland is much more interesting to study than flattish Holland. They went up to one of the snow-capped mountains, studied the river and so on. Emm......interesting.

http://www.engelberg.ch/en/Sommer/index.php

Talking about holiday, the Dutch schools in the South have started their Summer holiday. The start of the school break is staggered by a week between the South and the Middle part of Holland and a further week for the North; this is to reduce traffic congestions as people are driving South. In fact the whole Holland by then will feel like being emptied. People take their holidays seriously - a holiday is after all a much needed break and time to be under the sun. After the break, everyone will ask where have you been? Oh...I went to so and so beach in this great part of Southern France!

Well, holiday doesn't need to be expensive. In fact a lot of people here hire caravan (last photo) which can be pulled behind car and forms their home during the holiday. And off course not to leave their bikes behind. One could checked in into the many caravan camps dotted all around Europe, normally around nature parks which are great places for outdoor activities.

Driving South either to France or Italy during this time can be much longer than normal. Motorways are really clogged up. We found this experience quite awful when we drove to Italy last year.

http://paulaland-paulaland.blogspot.com/2007/08/covered-4000-km-in-10-days.html

Liverpool Forever

Now you can buy Liverpool football jersey without the Carlsberg logo on. It’s a good step forward by the club to let their fans to don the club’s colour without the need to also advertise an alcoholic drink.

It costs 30 pounds online from LFC online. http://store.liverpoolfc.tv/
It costs another 12 pounds with names at the back. Another 8 pounds to send by DHL We just recently ordered one for Faris who is a Liverpool fan in the house.

The Euro 2008 is nearly done. Tomorrow will be a good match to watch, the under-achiever Spain against the traditional winner - Germany. I do hope, Spain who plays better football, wins. Shame that Turkey was unlucky against Germany in the semi. What an embarrassment to Vienna for losing the live transmission twice because of massive electrical thunderstorms. Now we don’t have to feel too guilty that there were always power cuts back home whenever there was thunderstorm!

Summer Fair

As I took 2 days off for my eye surgery, I took turn from my missus to accompany Faris on his bike to school. Faris enjoys cycling and it really makes a difference as it gives him a good start to the day. For us, it also took out the headache to find a parking space when dropping and picking him up from school. In fact I read that 1 in 4 people here go to work either by bike or walking. A higher portion is true for kids going to school.

On Friday Faris’s school held their annual Y5/6 summer fair. It’s when the children in Y5 and 6 go in groups and make games and build structures to raise money for orphans in Romania. This year’s theme is the Olympics. Each game was 10-20 cents. Some pupils from the nearby German school also came down to support the event. Last year the school raised about €4000. Faris group constructed an obstacle course. He said they received lots of visitors.

Vision for Others

What do I do with my specs. I got 4 pairs which I regularly wear but are now redundant. There are a few known organisations in UK collecting old specs for the developing countries but I still need to find one here in Holland.

One thing I can’t stand after the laser ops is the sunlight. Everything seems to be bright. Sunglass is a must when outside. It does not help being summer right now that it is still bright outside till 10 pm at night. Driving is definitely difficult for me right now. This will take sometimes till the epithelium completely grows to its normal thickness.

To Lasik or not to Lasik

On Thursday, I did it. I had a laser treatment on my eyes. After checking around and getting advice, I decided to do it. There are over 70 laser clinics in Holland, the one I went to is one of only 14 that got the latest equipment called Allegretto™ Eye-Q Laser 400 from WaveLight Laser Technologie AG. WaveLight's laser is the most precision laser on the market today. This clinic is also ranked as amongst the top 7 here.

I had an initial extensive eye examination. This is to check my cornea, thickness and shape amongst others. One thing that came out was that the glass lens for my right eye was over prescribed. It should be -3.25 rather than -4! So beware, the equipments used by high street opticians are not that accurate.

Then I had a long discussion with the doctor. After all I always thought Lasik is the way to go. Lasik or Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis is also normally referred to as a flap procedure or better known as ‘deep cut’ procedure. The surgeon cut a very thin flap of the corneal tissue. The flap is lifted like a hinged door, revealing the stroma, the middle section of the cornea. Then a laser procedure is used to remodel the corneal stroma by vaporising some tissue. After the laser procedure, the flap is carefully repositioned, remains in position by natural adhesion until healing is completed. The patient doesn’t feel any pain and can go home or work straight away. This is what majority of people are doing right now.

But my doctor didn’t recommend it. He convinced me that PRK which is a more traditional method is the best one for the longer term. It is painful, but safer and better for the eye. He said people are just engrossed with Lasik here Lasik there because of the sale pitch and big publicity, but if given the choice many doctor would recommend PRK.

PRK or Photorefractive keratectomy is better known as 'surface' procedure. The difference from Lasik is that the top layer of the epithelium is removed, so no flap is created. The laser is then used to reshape the front portion of the cornea. So in layman’s term, Lasik creates a flap and trims the inner portion of the cornea, PRK only involes the outer cornea; hence there is less overall change to the eye with PRK. Military pilots cannot get Lasik, they have to get PRK. There have been some studies that say pressure changes could possibly cause the flap to pop off again. The only negative about PRK is healing time and pain. It takes longer. This is because the outermost surface of the eye, the epithelium, has to heal and grow back which normally takes a few days.

So on Thursday I went for the PRK. I was laid down on this laser bed (see photos). The epithelium layer was first scratched off. Then a cool laser was fired to shape the front of my cornea (last photo). After that a temporary bondage contact lens was laid on the eyes for protection, to be worn for a few days. The whole operation took about 10 minutes. The laser treatment itself was about 5 seconds for each eye. I didn’t feel any pain at all because of the drips provided to numb the eye. I immediately could see the effect. For the first time I could see clearly without wearing glass.

But as I said the PRK is a more painful method. Lots of drips and medications were provided. It really felt sting in my eyes on the first night. I needed to put all sort of drips. My eyes were literally watery and flowing. The best way to get through the day was by sleeping. I had to wear protective goggles for sleeping to prevent rubbing my eyes. The next day I went for the normal follow up. My doctor said the tears were very good to the eyes as it helped the healing process. Looking at my eyes, the doctor said the healing was really going well and the epithelium has nearly grown back completely. The pain was because the epithelium layer scratched off before the laser operation is like an open wound. Once it grown back the pain would then be gone.

You can see the video made for Dutch TV about the PRK procedure in the link below made by the clinic that I went to. It's in Dutch though but you should get the gist of it.
http://player.omroep.nl/?aflID=4083476
The room in the video is where I had the operation and the same doctor did the operation on me. You can see the eye check up procedure around the 6th minute in the video, the PRK procedure starts in the 11th minute. Worth watching. The prices here range from €1000 to €1800 per eye. The clinic I went to is more in the upper range. I know it is a lot cheaper to do it elsewhere especially in the Middle East, Singapore or Bangkok. But it is own individual choice. One has to look at what machine and experience the doctors had. They may have done a thousand operations but quality what really counts. After all it is your eyes. My eyes are still not 100% perfect yet but the vision will slowly improve as PRK takes time for the vision to be perfect. So if you want a less painful procedure go for Lasik. I decided on PRK. This is the traditional and most proven method without permanently cutting the inner cornea of the eyes.

Sunday at the Beach

Today, just past 8 am, Faris and I went on an early cycle ride to the beach in Scheveningen. As it was relatively early, the beach was still quiet except for some joggers and people strolling on the beach. People here must have been very downbeaten today after last night exit of Euro 2008.

Scheveningen is the premier beach here. This long and sandy beach is normally swollen with people when there is a slightest sign of hot weather. Last May when the temperature did hit 29 Deg. C, police had to literally stop people from going here. Otherwise it's just too crowded and unsafe.

Afterwards, after late breakfast, we all went to town. All , except for our two daughters, were on our bikes again. Fizah and Zimah took the bus instead. On the way back home, it became very windy. Things were flying around and tree branches falling down. Luckily the wind was on our back. Apparently in some places in Holland there were hails with hail stones as big as ping pong balls. In the Dutch News it was reported up to 2000 people made insurance claim for the hail storm damage. What a wierd weather!

The Future is not Orange

The long awaited quarter final between Holland and Russia was finally on tonight. The game was dubbed Holland versus Holland as Russia is coached by Gus Hiddink, the former Dutch coach.

Holland was in devastating form in the initial round games, crushing Italy and France, whilst even fielding a second team to beat Romania. Tonight however Holland was really out of sort. They were well below par and out-played by the Russian. So the dream is now over.

The Dutchs are always famous for their beautiful football. But they never win any tournament apart probably for one. Their supporters, always in Orange attire, are a great sight to watch in any stadium Holland plays. The supporters do look like a sea of orange.

Nearby our house, the local florist put a row of orange shirts in front of his shop today, to live up the atmosphere before the evening game. After the defeat tonight, it's time to pull these down very quickly now.

So who is going to win the Euro2008? Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia or Turkey? May be in that order.